When bad things happen we have a choice to either give up and go home or stand up and fight! Remember that saying “fight or flight”. In this keynote I tell my story of being knocked down and how I decided to take control and do it on my terms. It wasn’t always easy or pretty but I fought my way back. This is an inspiring story of a director who brought his early childhood program through a natural disaster and came out on top! I didn’t make it on my looks, brain or my family’s money because all 3 are mediocre! I will also share stories of some of the most seemingly talented people like Julia Child and Lucille Ball and how they were discouraged and told they would never make it. I’ll share my story of how my center was destroyed, how we came back and where we are now. You’ll leave uplifted with a sense that anything is possible as long as you have humor and perseverance!

Learning objectives:

A leader must have compassion. The director will be able to relate and form empathy for their employees by being able to see them as real individuals.

Teaching is an art so participants will be trained to look at employees as unique individuals and appreciate the diversity and not enforce uniformity.

Participants will learn that in the world of early childhood every day is different. We will discuss techniques to allow the directors to work in a chaotic and hectic environment.